Hiding at the southern side of the city, this waterfall is considered as the most beautiful waterfall in Indonesia. The formation of this waterfall consists of plenty levels of basin pools and cascading water in different arrays. You will never find the formation of waterfall could be more unique than the formation of Moramo Waterfall.

Surrounding the waterfall is a vast forest with thick vegetation of old trees. This wonderful object is a part of Tanjung Peropa Nature Reserve which protects several endemic and endangered species at the Province of South East Sulawesi.

How to Get There

This wonderful waterfall is located about 45 kilometers south from the city of Kendari. There is no public transportation that can take you to the location of Moramo Waterfall. You need to use your own vehicle, rented car, or motorcycle to get there. From the central city of Kendari, the drive will take you about 90 minutes. Rental car is available for $26.25 to $34, depends on your bargaining skill and the type of car you are renting. For motorcycle, it is below or around $7.5.

From the parking lot, you need to walk for about one kilometer before reaching the exact location of the waterfall. The pathway from the parking lot to the waterfall is surrounded with thick forest, providing cool shades, fresh air, and soft breeze. Therefore, the walking trip would feel much enjoyable and lively instead of boring and tiresome. The pathway itself consists of artificial stone steps, several wooden bridges, stairs, and flattened soils.

The Stair on the Pathway(Source: Flickr. Credit: Michael Thirnbeck)

Where to Stay

At Kendari, there are many kinds of hotel and homestay for you to stay the night. The prices may range depends on the class and facilities of each accommodation. Some of those are:

For your information, Kendari city is one of popular tourism destination city in Indonesia. Therefore, there will be lots of tourists coming to there during holiday seasons. Although there are plenty of accommodations at the city, chances are they might be fully booked quickly. Please book your reservation while planning to visit the city so you can get the room that meets your budget and comfort.

The Waterfall

Moramo Waterfall is famous for having terraced levels of waterfalls. The waterfall is cascading on a giant rock of 100 meters long which are separated in many levels. Generally, there are 7 major levels. But between those all, there are more than 60 other minor levels of waterfall. Each level of waterfall ranges between 0.5 to 3 meters high.

On each level, both major and minor, there is a basin pool that swaddles the falling water before it gets fall again to lower level of other basin pool. The water on each pool is very fresh and clean, so you could swim on it.

The rock that forms this waterfall is made out of natural onyx marble stone. It is noted that the site is a largest source of onyx marble stone in Indonesia. According to the research, it is estimated that there are about 860 billion cubic meters. The rock is naturally unique in color with greenish grey of color.

At Moramo Waterfall, you can also climb up from one level of waterfall to another higher one. This activity is pretty safe as the rocks are not slippery. If you notice, the rocks are formed by sulfur and alkali, which is impossible to moss to grow on. That is why the rocks are not slippery even if it gets poured with water all the time.

The Forest

Moramo Waterfall is surrounded by a thick forest which is still very natural. The forest is filled with ancient trees that could reach over 100 years of age. Between those trees, you can also see many kinds of birds and butterflies flying around. These small flying animals are usually bright in colors, providing a wonderful contrast combined with the green leaves of the trees.

The forest and the waterfall are actually a part of Tanjung Peropa Nature Reserve. That is why you have chances to see many unique animals that live at the forest deep. Some of the animals are endemic, such as anoa, rangkong bird, and pig-deer. Rangkong bird is quite easy to see as they like to fly around the forest. But anoa and pig-deer are quite rare to appear as the population is very low. They are now considered as endangered species.

Inside the forest, you will also encounter several other waterfalls which have similar formation with Moramo Waterfall, but are much smaller. The water of these tiny waterfalls is flowing to small stoneless river.

Tips

There will be no food or beverages vendor at the area of waterfall. The last food vendor available is at the entrance gate. Therefore, make sure you bring enough supply of those before entering the area.

It is important to keep the environment clean. So please do not litter. Keep your trash with you until you find proper garbage can.

Do not forget to bring your camera and make sure it is fully charged. There would be lots of wonderful panorama to capture at this site.

The forest and the waterfall is a part of Nature Reserve. All animals are protected by the law. So you shall not kill or harm any of them.

Waterfall is always a nice place to explore in the wild nature, especially if the location is still secluded and hidden far deep in the forest. The noise of falling water, the green of thick forest around, and the fresh air blown by the breeze, forms a harmonious atmosphere which can be very much relaxing.

Swimming at the cool basin pool and being poured by the cascading water is really effective to sweep away the stress and exhaustion. In Moramo Waterfall of Kendari, this kind of experience has been elevated to the next level. With thick vast forest and Nature Reserve as extra features, it would be really challenging and fun to get a vacation to Moramo Waterfall.